Candyland Economics: Finding the Sweet Spot to Better Teach the Economics of International Trade Through an Interactive, Fun, and Delicious Game

Abstract

International trade has been a central focus of economics since the inception of the discipline. Despite everything we have learned about the benefits of free trade, the topic remains one of the most difficult for students to comprehend, especially in today’s climate, where trade policy has become so polarizing. This paper describes a simple, easy-to-understand, student-involved, and dynamic trading game that is designed to cut through all the noise and controversy surrounding trade policy to convey essential insights about trade. It also describes how trading games like this one can serve as a jumping-off point for more in-depth discussions of a wide variety of economic topics related to the subjective theory of value and monetary economics.